Never Forget Revisited: Better Late Than Never
by chocolatequeen
Summary: Yet another revision


AN: Ok, here's the deal. For each one of these stories, you have to assume that everything that happened in Never Forget up to this point happened. In other words, these stories don't go together. In part 5 of Never Forget, Harm proposed to Jess. This picks up directly after that.  
  
And if you want to read the original Never Forget, just click on my name and find the link.  
  
bPart 6 08:02, Saturday, February 15/b  
  
Mac groaned in her sleep as an annoying buzzing noise started to wake her up. "Go 'way," she mumbled. "Don't want any." But the ringing continued and finally she woke up enough to pick up the phone and mutter, "H'lo?"  
  
"Mac, you'll never guess what happened!" an excited voice exclaimed.  
  
"Harm? Why are you calling at 08:04 on a Saturday morning?" she asked, more awake now.  
  
"Oh, did I wake you up? I'm sorry Mac, I'm just so excited and I couldn't wait to tell you. It's so wonderful!"  
  
"Slow down Flyboy, what's so wonderful? Tell me your news."  
  
"She said yes Mac! I asked and she said yes!"  
  
"Was there ever any doubt?" Mac teased.  
  
"Well you never know for sure. and I did mess up the rest of the evening because I was so nervous. I'm getting married Mac," he said as though he was having difficulty believing it himself.  
  
"I'm happy for you Harm. Jess is good for you," Mac responded quietly.  
  
"Hey, I'll let you go back to sleep now. I just had to tell you." "Ok Harm. congratulations."  
  
"Thanks Mac," he said.  
  
As Mac placed the receiver back on the cradle, sleep was the farthest thing from her mind. iWell that's that. they're engaged. Of course they are Mac, you knew this was going to happen, he told you he'd bought the ring. But I just didn't believe it! Why does this always happen to me, I open up to someone but they don't want me. What's wrong with me that no one wants me?/i  
  
Slowly she got out of bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. As the hot water beat down on her, her own tears join the flood as she let the pain of rejection wash over her heart. iNo more. I'll be happy with just my friends. I just can't take this again,/i she wept.  
  
Stepping out of the shower, she dried off and dressed in a pair of worn sweats. Then she went into the kitchen and cut a large piece of frozen chocolate pie for breakfast. iYep, from now on it's just me and my chocolate,/i she told herself as she curled up on the couch.  
  
Suddenly a new thought occurred to her. "How am I going to face him?" she wondered aloud. "Or her? Or both of them together. especially that! I can't ignore him, he's my best friend and she apparently is his other half. Thank God today is Saturday so I have the weekend to get used to this before work on Monday. Maybe I could ask the Admiral for an assignment that would send me away. No, I did that once and that's part of the reason I'm in this mess, even though it was for a good reason. Even things done for a good reason can backfire sometimes." Her mind wandered back to those three months on the Guadacanal and the confrontation she'd had with Harm. iWe just couldn't get it together after I got back,/i she realized. iMaybe this is for the best then?/i  
  
bHarm's POV/b  
  
I stared at the receiver for a moment before hanging it up. "Well that's it then," I told myself. "If she can be that happy for you, then obviously she just sees you as a friend." i "Isn't that what you wanted?"/i a little voice inside me asks.i "To just be friends, to have a relationship with someone else? For her to be happy for you?"/i  
  
It is what I wanted. or at least it's what I thought I wanted. I'm not so sure anymore, but it looks like I don't have much of a choice. I guess the old saying is true: "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it."  
  
bPart 7 Monday morning, 07:55 3rd person POV/b  
  
"Good morning Mac," Harm said with a smile as he stepped into the bullpen.  
  
"Morning Harm," she replied quietly and walked into her office, closing the door behind her.  
  
Harm stared at the door, confused. iWhat's bothering you about it Harm? It's not as if she's never closed her office door before?/i his logical mind argued. iYeah, but she basically just shut the door in my face,/i his intuition fought back. iSomething's wrong./i He hesitated for a moment, thinking about knocking. Then Bud walked by and reminded him it was time for staff call, and with one last glance at the closed door, he walked away.  
  
Meanwhile, Mac sat her office, tensed for the confrontation she was sure was coming. iHe knows I'd never shut my door on him unless I was upset. what will I tell him when he knocks? I ought to just tell him to go away and leave me alone, what does he need me for now that he has Jess?/i But the knock never came and Mac's internal clock suddenly reminded her that she was five minutes late for staff call.  
  
"I'm sorry Admiral, I lost track of time," she apologized as she breezed into the conference room.  
  
AJ looked at her over his glasses. "You lost track of time Colonel?" he questioned.  
  
"Yes sir, it happens to the best of us," she replied with a glint of humor.  
  
"Ok, let's get this show on the road," he said turning back to the business of running the morning meeting.  
  
Harm on the other hand was not buying it for a moment. iIf she lost track of time she must really be upset. What's happened since Saturday morning that could be so bad?/i he wondered. He tried to catch her eye, but she studiously avoided even looking at him.  
  
As they stood to leave, he made one last attempt. "Hey Mac, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked.  
  
She looked at him blankly and said, "I don't know why Commander, we don't have any cases together," and walked out.  
  
Shocked, Harm followed her out of the room and went into his office. iI don't understand, she hasn't been that cold to me in over a year. Did I do something wrong?/i  
  
Three hours later, he was still no closer to understanding her behavior. iI must have done something to hurt her somehow, but what? I haven't talked to her since Saturday, when I told her I'd proposed to Jess./i And then something clicked inside is male brain. iIs that what she's upset about? And if she's upset that I'm engaged, could that mean that she does want to be more than friends?/i  
  
And suddenly he knew that even if she didn't ever want to be more than friends, he wanted her too badly, loved her too much to marry someone else. Picking up his phone, he dialed a now familiar number. "Jess MacGuire," she answered professionally.  
  
"Hey Jess, do you still have a lunch appointment?"  
  
"Harm!" she said happily. "You're in luck, he just canceled. Shall I pick you up in 20 minutes?"  
  
"That sounds great. I'll see you then," he said and hung up.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Jess stepped off the elevator just as Harm was locking his office door. "Hey you," she said and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Are you ready?"  
  
iAs ready as I'll ever be,/i Harm thought to himself. Aloud, he only said, "Yeah, let's go." The ride down was silent, but when Jess started out the door toward her car, he stopped her. "Let's take a walk in the courtyard," he suggested quietly.  
  
Startled, Jess allowed herself to be guided by the hand at her back for a moment, waiting for him to say something else. When she realized something was up, she stopped and turned to him. "Harm, what's going on?" For a moment he just stared. not really at her, but through her. "Harm?" she said again, this time more sharply.  
  
In an instant his gaze focused on her, and then he lowered it. "I can't marry you Jess."  
  
Jess MacGuire's world tilted crazily at those words. "But why?" she managed to force out through frozen lips.  
  
Looking straight at her this time, he spoke the simple unvarnished truth. "Because as much as I love you, I don't love you enough to marry you."  
  
Jess regained her emotional footing long enough to nod slowly and say, "I know you don't. I wanted you to, but you didn't. Goodbye Harm," she said, handing him his ring and walking away.  
  
Harm just stared after her for a moment, then he dropped the ring in his pocket and went back inside. On the elevator ride up, he debated momentarily about what to do now. iShould I talk to Mac? Will this make a difference? Will she believe me?"/i When the elevator dinged at the top, he got off, still uncertain of what to do.  
  
Then one thing became clear: he loved her and she didn't know it. Ignoring the little voice in his head that told him to let this dream die, went straight to her office. After hesitating for just an instant, he opened the door without knocking and stepped inside.  
  
"Hey, that was a short lunch," Mac said, her surprise cutting through the earlier formality. "Did you have an argument over wedding dates or something?" she teased.  
  
"There isn't going to be a wedding, Mac," he replied as he lowered himself into her empty chair.  
  
"Not going to be." her eyes closed briefly, as she willed herself not to shout in joy. "Did she call it off, Harm?" she asked, trying to sound sympathetic.  
  
"No, I did."  
  
Her eyes flew open in surprise. "You did? But why??"  
  
Harm had been closely watching the emotions that had flitted across her face in the last minute-pain at the mention of the wedding, surprise and quickly concealed joy at its cancellation, shock and a quick glimpse of hope when she heard that he'd called it off-and he knew that this was his moment, the only one he might get. Gathering his courage, he answered her truthfully. "Because even though I cared for her, I couldn't love her as much as I love you."  
  
For the first time, Harmon Rabb, Jr. had the privilege of seeing his Marine completely speechless. She stared at him, her mouth moving, but no sound came out. Finally she managed to squeak out, "Well it certainly took you long enough!"  
  
Harm smiled for a moment at that, and then became serious. "Almost too long. it isn't too late is it Sarah?"  
  
Smiling at him through a veil of tears, Mac replied, "Better late than never Harm. I guess you just need a Marine around to keep you on time. And for the record, I love you too." 


End file.
